Asked by: Lord Shipley (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what they currently estimate the percentage of (1) false negative, and (2) false positive, tests for COVID-19 to be.
Answered by Lord Bethell
To provide a more comprehensive response to a number of outstanding Written Questions, this has been answered by an information factsheet Testing – note for House of Lords which is attached, due to the size of the data. A copy has also been placed in the Library
Asked by: Lord Shipley (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask Her Majesty's Government how many tests for COVID-19 have been completed per 100,000 people in each local authority area in England to date.
Answered by Lord Bethell
To provide a more comprehensive response to a number of outstanding Written Questions, this has been answered by an information factsheet Testing – note for House of Lords which is attached, due to the size of the data. A copy has also been placed in the Library.
Asked by: Lord Shipley (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask Her Majesty's Government how many rough sleepers in England were allocated accommodation in a hotel or similar accommodation during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Answered by Lord Greenhalgh
Since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, my Department has been working intensively with local areas to support rough sleepers, those in shared sleeping spaces such as shelters and those at risk of rough sleeping, into secure accommodation as part of the Everyone In programme.
On 3 June, the Government published the management information that supports the announcements from the Secretary of State and Dame Louise Casey that nearly 15,000 vulnerable people had?been accommodated by local authorities in response to COVID-19.?This information can be (attached) found here.
Asked by: Lord Shipley (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask Her Majesty's Government how many rough sleepers in England were reported in their latest count of rough sleepers; and when that count was conducted.
Answered by Lord Greenhalgh
The most recent national rough sleeping data is the?autumn 2019 annual statistics, which showed a total figure of 4,266 rough sleepers on any given night.
The number of people sleeping rough in the 2019 annual snapshot is 9% lower compared with the previous year and 10% lower compared with 2017.
Since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, nearly 15,000 vulnerable people have been housed in?emergency?accommodation in order to prevent any risk of them sleeping rough during the pandemic.
Asked by: Lord Shipley (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what estimate they have made of the current number of rough sleepers in England not accommodated in hotels or similar accommodation.
Answered by Lord Greenhalgh
Almost 15,000 vulnerable people have been housed in emergency accommodation, including hotels, since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic to enable them to isolate and stop the virus spreading. This includes people coming in directly from the streets, people previously housed in shared night shelters and people who have become vulnerable to rough sleeping during the pandemic.
The Government and local authorities have worked closely together to make accommodation available to significant number of people during this challenging time. The reasons behind people sleeping rough are complex, and some people may make decisions to refuse an offer of accommodation or leave accommodation that has been offered to them.
Management information on those accommodated is collected from over 300 local authorities nationally. Local authorities hold the most up to date information regarding the number of people they are currently assisting.?We are continuing to work with local authorities?to understand the work they are doing to help the most vulnerable in our society.
Asked by: Lord Shipley (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the increase in the number of fines levied by private car park operators in the past ten years.
Answered by Lord Greenhalgh
Government does not hold figures on fines levied by private car park operators.
At present, the private parking industry is self-regulating. However, the Parking (Code of Practice) Act will lead to the creation of an independent Code of Practice for private parking companies and a “one-stop-shop” for private sector parking appeals.
The Code will be developed in consultation with stakeholders but Government fully expects the Code to cover such areas as the clear display of terms and conditions for consumers, grace periods to allow motorists time to pay and leave the car park, professional standards of behaviour expected of parking operators and a fair process for appealing parking charges.
Asked by: Lord Shipley (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what checks are made by the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency on the fitness of the operators of private car parks to issue valid fines.
Answered by Baroness Vere of Norbiton - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) will only release vehicle keeper information to private parking companies that are members of an appropriate accredited trade association (ATA). The ATAs carry out checks on parking companies before allowing them to become members. This ensures that the company is legitimate and is monitored for compliance with the ATA’s code of practice that promotes fair treatment for motorists.
The DVLA carries out comprehensive auditing of companies, involving remote and also on-site audits in conjunction with the Government Internal Audit Agency. This ensures that keeper information is used appropriately. Any issues are investigated and action taken where necessary. This can include the suspension of the facility to request vehicle keeper information from the DVLA.
Asked by: Lord Shipley (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what estimate they have made of the number of motorists who have received invalid fines caused by malfunctioning equipment in private car parks in each of the last three years.
Answered by Lord Greenhalgh
We have not made an estimate of the number of motorists who have received invalid fines caused by malfunctioning equipment in private car parks. However, this is an issue which the new Parking Code of Practice should help to address.
At present the private parking industry is self-regulating. The Parking (Code of Practice) Act, will lead to the creation of an independent Code of Practice for private parking companies and a “one-stop-shop” for private sector parking appeals.
The Code of Practice will create consistency for consumers, by having a single set of rules which applies across the private parking sector. It will ensure that the obligations for enforcement and appeal processes are fair, consistent, and proportionate. Those operators who do not meet the standards set out in the code of practice will not be able to access DVLA data and will be unable to pursue motorists for parking charges.
The Government is currently considering the content of the Code and what the obligations by private parking companies to motorists should be and will consult with stakeholders, including industry, motorists and consumer groups later this year.
Asked by: Lord Shipley (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask Her Majesty's Government why a fine levied in a private car park can be more than one levied in a car park operated by a local authority.
Answered by Lord Greenhalgh
At present the private parking industry is self-regulating.
Parking on private land is primarily managed through contract law. The signage on a site is the terms and conditions of a contract. When a motorist gets a ticket from a private company, in law this is an invoice for breach of contract. This creates a debt against the motorist that is enforceable through the courts.
Fines issued by private parking companies are currently capped at £100 by the codes of practice which the International Parking Community and British Parking Association hold their members to.
The Parking (Code of Practice) Act will create a Code of Practice with a single set of rules which applies across the private parking sector. It will ensure that the obligations for enforcement and appeal processes are fair, consistent, and proportionate. The issue of fines will also be looked at as part of the development of the Code.
Local authority parking is governed by different legislation to private car parks. The Civil Enforcement of Parking Contraventions (Guidelines on Levels of Charges) (England) Order 2007 sets guidelines on parking charges by enforcement authorities outside Greater London. Local authorities are not meant to raise revenue on managing parking and under Section 55 of the Road Traffic Management Act (RTRA) 1984, any excess revenue raised must be reinvested in the local transport budget.
The Parking Places (Variation of Charges) Act 2017 will also provide flexibility around allowing local authorities to lower parking charges for seasonal or one-off events, as well as creating a duty to consult residents on plans to increase charges. We are currently working on enacting the legislation and will provide further announcements in due course.
Asked by: Lord Shipley (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask Her Majesty's Government how many staff were employed by the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency in each of the past three years to respond to requests for the personal details of motorists by private car park operators.
Answered by Baroness Vere of Norbiton - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)
It is not possible to say how many staff are employed specifically to process requests from private car park operators. The staff involved deal with these requests as part of their role alongside a variety of other duties.